Machine for affixing two-part seals to string



May 28, 1935. o. scHREYrER MACHINE FOR AFFIXING TWO-PART'SEALS TO STRING Filed Sept. 25, 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig-2- Inventor. U xm/z/J er JET/to rnqy May 28, 1935. SCHREYER 2,002,588

MACHINE FOR AFFIX ING TWO-PART SEALS TO STRING Filed Sept. 25, 1935 a Shets-Sheet 5 May 28, 19.35. 0. scHREVER 2,002,583

9 v MACHINE FOR AFFIXING TWO-PART SEALS TO STRING Filed Sept. 25, 1933 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inwnton W JWMQW EBWAMM; .Hitarney.

May 28, 1935. o. SCHREYER ,00 8

MACHINE FOR AFFIXING TWO-PART SEALS TO STRING Filed Sept. 25, 1933 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 h m WQBMAMOL May 28, 1935. x o. scHREfl-tR 8 momma FOR AFFIXJGIVNG TWO-PARTY SEALS TO STRING Filed Sept. 25, 1933 8 Shgets-Sheet 6 umlaxmu y 1935 o. scHREYrER 2,002,588

'MACHINE FOR AFFIXING TWO-PART SEALS TO STRING Filed Sept. 25, 1933 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 May 28,1935. o. SCHREYER 2,002,538

I v MACHINE FOR AFFIXING TWO-PART SEALS TO STRING Filed Sept. 25. 1933 s Sheets-Sheet 8 I E -ZS- R 30.

Patented May 28,1935

UNITED STATES,

MACHINE FOR AFFIXING TWO-PAR SEALS TO STRING Oscar Schreyer, Horn, Thurgau, Switzerland, as-

signor to Hans Stoifel and Franz Leo Stofiel, Horn, Thurgau, Switzerland, trading as Stoffel Application September 25, 1933, Serial No. 690,960

I In Switzerland October 25, 1932 19 Claims. (01'. 153-1 This invention relates. to machines for affixing two-part seals to strings and has forits object to enable the attachment of one seal after another to be effected automatically in a speedy manner. r

. This object is attained by the mechanism hereinafter described and claimed.

For the purpose of description of the mechanism, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the separate parts of a two-part seal and the string or wire before attachment. i r V Figure 2 is a front elevation of an automatic machine for attaching the said seaLwith parts of the machine broken away.

V Figure 2a is a front elevation of an arranging device for one partof the seal. I

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view partly in section of seal-closing mechanism of the machine. Figure 4 is a fragmentary side view partly in section of the feed mechanism which feeds the second part of the seal. j

Figure 5 is a plan view partly in section of the machine. r

Figure 6 is a detached, fragmentary front elevation of a detail of the seal-closing mechanism.

,Figure'l is a detached front elevation, and Figure 8 a detached plan view of another de- 3 tail of the seal-closing mechanism Figure 9 is a fragmentary side view, partly in section illustrating other details of the seal-closing mechanism.

Figure 10 is fragmentary'side'view, partly in section of the feed mechanismprovided on the machine for feeding the first named part of the seal.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary plan view of the last named feed mechanism.

Figure 12 is a detached cross-section of apart of the last named feed mechanism.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary front view, partly in section and illustrates details of the last named feed mechanism.

Figure 14 is a detached side View, partly in sec tion of part of the drive of the last named feed mechanism. v

Figure 15 is a detached side view, partly in section of another part of the said drive.

9 Figure 16 is a detached side view of the starting and stopping mechanism of the'machine.

Figure 17 is a side elevation of "the machine.

Figure 18 is a detached cross-section of the magazine which holds the first named part of the seal.

t Figure 19 is a front view in vertical section of the arranging device for the first named part of the seal.

Figure 20 is a plan view of the said arranging device. t

Figure 21 is a fragmentary front view of a part of the said arranging device.

Figure 22 is a fragmentary plan view of part of the said arranging device.

Figure 23 is a detached front view, and 10 Figure24= a fragmentary side view of the rowforming mechanism of the arranging device.

' Figure 25 is a detached end view of an alternative construction of capsule guide.

Figure 26 is a front view in section thereof. Figure 27 is a plan view of the same. Figure 28 is an end view of an alternative construction of capsule feed arm.

Figure 29 is a fragmentary side view of the said arm. n 20 Figure 30 is an end view of the said arm when in another working position. a

Figure 31 is a detached front view of an alternative construction of sealing plunger.

Figure 32 is a detached plan view in section thereof.

Figure 33 is a detached side view of an alternative construction of capsule retaining member. Figure 34 is a detached plan view of the said retaining member regarded from below. 30

Figure 35 is another detached side view thereof. Figure 36 is a detached side view of a detail thereof. I

* Figure 37 is a detached side view of a weighting arm.

Figure 38 is a detached plan view thereof Referring to Figure l, the illustrated two-part seal consists before sealing of a capsule l5 and a disc. l6. 'I'he capsule l5 has two diametrically arrangedslots in which is laid the string I! to 40 which the seal is to be attached so that the string l1 lies in the cavity [8 when the disc I6 has been placedin the capsule l5 and the edges of the capsule have been turned over inwardly onto the disc [6. The string I1 is caused thereby to have 4 sharp bends. Seals of this kind can be attached by placing the parts thereof on the string by means of a hand-operated pair'of pincers or a sealing "apparatus.

According to the present invention the placing of the seal parts on the string is avoided by the V provision of an automatic sealing machine, one

constructional example of which is shown in the drawings.

I9 is the motor, 20 is a countershaft, 2| a cam shaft, 22 a crank shaft provided with a flywheel 23 at one end. At the forward part of the machine frame 25 there is provided a/lower die 25 which serves to receive the disc it. A capsule holder 21 is situated vertically above the lower die 25 and is mounted on a verticallyreciprooatable upper die 26.

There are three driving pulleys 28, 23 and 30 on the motor I s. by a strap 3! to the flywheel'ga; a tensioning pulley 32 being provided to act on the strap 3|. When the motor is running, the flywheel turns loosely on one end of the crankshaft 22. V

Beneath the die 25 there are two contacts33 and B l. When the string to be sealed is laid in a slot" 35 provided therefor in the die 25, the contacts are pressed downwards by the string and close an electric circuit which energizes an"e1ectromagnet (not shown) contained in the drum 36. g The electromagnet thereupon attracts an armature (not shown) which moves a rod t'hFigure 16; in the direction of the arrow 38." The movement of the rod 3'1 engages a coupling in the usual manner to set the cam shaft 2| in motion for 'a single rotation and to then automatically disengage the coupling. a

The starting of the machine can be effected in any other suitable manner, for example by means of a pedal which when depressed, displaces the rod 3? by means of a cable and arrangement of levers.

The employment of two contacts 33, t'instead of only one which would be sufficient for the purpose has for its object to ensure that the engagement of the coupling'can only take place after the string has been fully and correctly inse ted in the slot 35 of the die '25. The provision of two contacts arranged as shown also guards against accidents, such as injury to the fingers because the upper die can only descend when the fingers of both hands are lying at the side of the lower die and therefore cannot be in the way of the upper die. 7 Where two contacts are provided the electrical connections are such that the depression of one contact only does not cause the electromagnet to be energized, but that depression of both contacts is necessary to achieve this effect. A string can only be sealed by means of the two-part seal when the string is situated between the disc and the capsule of the seal. The disc, which is usually provided with a name of a trader or the like is accommodated in the die 25. The capsule must however be placed above the die 25 in a position where its slots will register with the string laid in the die 25. To attain this position, the capsule holder 2'! is provided with a spring ii its lower end into the cavity 39. The diameter of the cavity 33 corresponds with that of the capsule.

Therefore, after the capsule has been inserted in the cavity from below with the opening of the capsule pointing downwardathe spring :15 retains I the capsule in the cavity. The capsule holder 2! per die 26 r is so fixed on the upper die 25 that it cannot slip off the same. For this purpose a movable stud i] is provided on the holder 2'! and is pressed inwardly by a spring 42 situated in a groove 47, the stud it being thereby pressed against the up- The driving pulley 28 is connectedsecured externally and projecting with- The capsule can be forced out of the lower part of the cavity by means of the falling die 26 as soon as the lower edge of the holder 27 impinges against the upper edge of the die 25. Continued downward movement of the die 26 attaches the two parts of the seal to the string by' causing the stringto enter'the slots in the capsule I5, causing the disc E6 to enter the capsule l5, bending the string into the recess [8 and beading that part of the capsule rim which extends downwards beyond the disc l6 inwards and against the said disc. When the attachment operation is complete the capsule holder 2? is situated at the up- .per part of the die 26.

The holder 2? is returned to its initial position on the die 26 by impingement against the machine frame 24, see Figure 3 which arrests the upward movement of the holder 2'! during the upward; return movement of the die 25.

Not only the cam shaft 2| and the countershaft 29 must perform a single revolution after coupling with the constantly rotating motor i9, but alsothe "crank shaft'22 must also perform only a single revolution at a higher speed than the other shafts and stop after each seal has been attached. The crank shaft is therefore arranged separate from the cam shaft 2!. The crank shaft 22 effects the vertical reciprocatory movement of the die 26. To control the motion of the crank shaft 22 a spring housing 48 is arranged at the side of the fly wheel 23 and has a pawl 43 which projects therefrom and is connected to a Bowden cable 44 which is controlled by a cam 45. The cam 45 pulls the cable 64 immediately after the cam shaft has commenced to rotate and the pawl 63 thereupon acts on cam (not shown) situated in the spring housing and serving to lock the fly wheel and crank shaft together and thereby establish a driving connection between them for one revolution and thereupon automatically unlock the crank shaft from the fly wheel. A band brake 46 is provided in connection with the crank shaft 22 and ensures immediate stoppage of the crank shaft when it has been unlocked from the fly wheel.

The discs of the seal are fed to the die 25 by means of a longitudinally slit tube 49 which extends downwardly and serves as a magazine for the discs. The discs are arranged in apile in the tube 49. They are pressed upwardly against a stop 55 by means of a slide 58 which has a hook connected to a weight 54 by means of a cord 53 which rides on a roller 52. There is room for only one disc between the stop 55 and the upper edge of the end of the tube 56. The tube 56 has a collar 5? at one end and the collar has a bayonet slot 53 by means of which it can be slipped 03f a pin 59 fixed to the machine frame.

A disc feed plate 69 is reciprocatably mounted between the upper edge of the magazine tube 58 and the stop 55. The feed plate 60 is secured to a horizontally mounted, rectangular rail 65 which is acted on by a spring 62 situated in a cavity of the machine frame 24. The rail 5! has a roller at its rear endto ride on a cam 53 and be maintained in contact therewith by the action of the spring 62. When this rail is actuated by the thrust of the cam 63, that seal disc which lies in front thereof is pushed oif the pile into the hole ,fieof a disc feed lever 65. I A U-shaped bracket 5b is secured to the fron of the machine frame 24 and carries a vertical spindle 57 to which the lever 65 is secured. The

lever 65 makes a quarter turn from the disc re-' ceiving position into a position where the disc ameter as the seal disc I6.

holder 2'I and the lever 98 impinges on the pin carried thereby lies in the space between the die 25andthedie26. J

The hole 64 of the lever 65 is of the same di- The lever has a divided platform 18,10 the two parts of which are held together bya spring 69 and thereby normally prevent the disc from falling through ,thehole 64. The platform: comprises the two-parts 10, 10' pivoted at H and I2 respectively and provided with meeting knife edges. The part 'IIlahas an extension I3 which is adapted to impinge against a stop Maud thereby separatethev two parts to allow the disc to fall through. the hole 64 into the cavity of the die 25;

The seal capsules are fed by hereinafter described means onto a horizontal support I5 with the. string recesses uppermost. .A capsule feed lever 98 is secured to the shaft 61. A rail16, I6 having a slanting surface extends along and beyond the support'IS intoa cavity TI in the lever 98'. A projection I8 is provided. in the cavity .to form an extension of thaprojecting part 76' of the rail I6, 16% The projecting part 16f and projection 18 are so shaped and arranged that the capsules ride thereon by means of their slots 79. The feed of successive seal capsules onto the slantingsurface of thepart l6 and the projection I8 is effected by means of a pivoted finger 88 the point of which engages one of the holes 8I provided in each capsule The finger 80 is loaded by a spring 82 which acts to turn the, finger in the direction of the arrow Z. Thefinger performs a horizontal feed movement because its support 83 is mounted on a slide having "a roller which rides on a cam 81. The slide 84 and support 83 move towards a stationary part 88 With". out actually impinging thereon. V l I .The slide is acted on by a spring 88 which keeps the roller in contact with the cam81. I

The seal capsules, which are acted on by pres;

sure from the rear, are prevented from leaving the support prematurely and are caused to be fed singly to the cavity 11 of the lever 98 by means of a movable tongue 96, Figure; 13, which acts. at the correct time to press the capsule laterally against aguide wall 9|. The tongue is in the form of a flat, rectangular plate and has a slot 92 engaged by a slanting cam piece 93 provided on a lever 94 which is mounted on the machine frame 24 and has a pin riding on a cam 96. Contact of the pin 95 with the cam is maintained by a spring 91. v V

A lever '99 is mounted on the lever 98 and is acted on by a spring I88 which drawsit towards a stop IOI, the spring I08 beingarranged to become relaxed at the moment that the lever 99 impinges against the die 25. On the lever 99 there is a thin wire spring I02 which presses downwardly on the seal capsulecarried by the lever 88. v

A positive cam I83 is mounted on the; shaft 2| and acts on a roller I64 provided on a lever I66 which is mounted on a shaft I85. The shaft I95 is journalled in the machine frame 24 and has a double toothed segment I81, one part ofwhich meshes with a rack I 68 and the other part of. which meshes with a rack I 89. The racks are guided in the bracket and each has an additional row of teeth situated at the front. The front. rows-of teeth respectively mesh with pinions 65' and 96 which are welded'on the seal disc-feed lever. 65 and the seal capsule feed lever 98 so that the parts move synchronously.-

The levers 65 and 98 turn simultaneously into 41 when it arrives in the said'space.

. A lever I I6 engages beneath a projection on the lever 98 and is. designed to force the lever 98 axially upwardsfor the purpose of forcing the seal capsule carriedby the lever 98 into theholder 27. The lever H8 is mounted on a shaft 'II3 which is journalled in bearings III and II2. A lever II4 is'secured to the shaft H3 and carries a roller H5 which is acted on by a cam II 6 to operate the lever H4 in the requisite manner.

For the purpose of ejecting the seal from the die 25 after it has been affixed to the string, there is a plunger II! provided in the die 25 and acted on by a spring I I8 which is situated between the shoulder I I1 and the head of the die. There is also a bolt I I 9 which is acted on by a compression spring. I20 which keeps a slanting surface I 2! on the bolt I I9 in contact with a correspondingly slanting surface on a horizontally slidable rod I22. A pivotal link I23 connects the rod I22 to a lever I24 which'has a roller acted on by a positive cam I26 mounted on the shaft 2i. The cam I26 has two partsIZl and I28. The surface I27 of the part: I21 acts on the roller I25 to displace the rod I22 forwardly and the surfaceIiB' of the part I28 acts on the said roller to displace the rod I22 rearwardly.

For the purpose of supplying seal capsules to the support I5 an interchangeable capsule magazine I36 is provided. There are several of these magazines for use in succession on the machine and each of them has a guide rail I3I along which ride the capsules contained in the magazine. The rail engages the string slots in the capsules. Each magazine has afiange I32 provided with positioning pins I33 by the aid of which the magazine is removably attached to a flange I34 provided-on the machine frame 24. A bolt I 35 is provided on the flange I32 and has a spring I36 which holds the bolt against accidental disengagement. The bolt projects into the magazine during transport of the filled magazine and prevents the capsules from falling out during transport and whilst the magazine is being placed in position. -When the magazine is in position, the bolt I35 'is removed by hand and is thereby withdrawn from the path of the capsules which are then free to travel downwards. If the capsules are very light, a weight of the same shape as the cross-section of the channel in the magazine can be slipped into thetop of the channel so that it presses the capsules down the channel. qlnsteadof a number of interchangeable handfilled magazines for the seal capsules, the said capsules may be supplied automatically by means of an automatically acting mechanism mounted on a pillar I31 which is adapted to be suitably secured to the machine frame 24. The pillar is provided at the top with a cavity and terminates in a flange I38. 3

Two concentric, cylinders MI and I42 are mounted on the flange I38 by means of brackets I39 and I48. The cylinder I4I has a rim I43 which extends towards the'cylinder I42. A rotary disc I44 is situated beneath the rim I43. The disc I44 is provided with a worm wheel I46 which meshes with a worm I46 situated in the cavity of the pillar I3'I. The shaft I41 of the Worm extends outside thepillar I37 and is provided with a driving pulley I48 which is connected by a strap I49 to the pulley 38 of the motor I9. .Two diametrically arranged springs I58 and I5I are secured to the rotary disc I44. The cylinder I42. is provided with an aperture I 52;" A

rail I53 is secured to the cylinder I 42 and projects through the aperture I52, the rail lying very slightly above the disc I44. A tongue I42 is provided on the cylinder I42 and is approximately parallel to, the inwardly directed part of the rail I53. A deflecting strip is secured, together with the lug I54 of the rail I53 to the cylinder I42 near the outlet of the aperture I52. It has a part I extending only slightly over the disc I44. A sector like rail piece I51 extends outside the flange I38 in a parallel manner. The rail piece I5! is outwardly encased by a muff I58. A finger I59 is situated near the aperture I52 and extends over the end of the rail I51. Above the rail I51 there is a locking piece I 66 which is situated above the rail I51 at a distance equal to the diameter of the seal capsule. The rail I51 is so shaped that its upper surface has a downward slant relative to the disc I44.

The rail I5I is continued .by a small, fiat plate I6Iwhich has a slot through which a thin disc I62 extends. The disc I62 has a boss to which a rubber roller I63 is secured, the disc and roller being mounted on a stud I64 so that the roller is frictionally'driven by the disc I44. The stud I64 is fixed to the flange I38. A friction roller I65 is mounted in contact with the upper surface of the disc on a stud I66 secured to the cylinder I42. Two diametrically arranged springs I61 and I68 are secured to the roller I65. A stationary, rectangular rail I66 extends over the plate I6I and extends in a spiral direction round the disc I4I to finally slant downwardly into the magazine I30 which is connected to the support I5.

The lower end of the rail I69 is indicated by the reference I6.

At one side of the pulley 35 there is an air blower III. The blower discharges through an outlet II2 which guides the draught of air against an open part of the magazine I35.

In operation, the seal capsules are thrown into the cylinder MI and are forced by centrifugal action by the disc I44 rotating in the direction of the arrow, against the inner side of the cylinder I4I. Only those capsules which lie in inverted positions or in upright positions can slip under the wall of the cylinder I4! and arrive beneath the rim I45.

Those capsules which roll or lie on their sides inside the cylinder I4I eventually impinge against one or the other of the springs I56 and I5I during the rotary movement of the disc I44 and the springs disturb their positions until they finally assume an inverted or upright position on the disc I44 and are thereby rendered capable of slipping beneath the rim I43. Those capsules which are forced by the centrifugal action against the inner side of the cylinder I42. are pushed by rotation of the disc I44 against the rail I53 and areguided by the same out of the cylinder I42 and along the guide member I42 towards the periphery of the disc I44. Those capsules which are in inverted positions, that is tosay, which have their rims projecting upwardly then impinge successively against the part I55 of the strip I56 and fall from the disc I44 into a container from which they are again thrown by hand into the cylinder when the container has become full. Those of the capsules which leave the disc I44 in the correct position, namely with their rims extending downwardly slide over the part I55 and are slightly tipped up by the correspondingly slanting finger I59 and fall onto the rail I57 so that they lie on their sides, see Figures 20 and 2!.

Theclosed ends of the capsules then lie in contact with the periphery of the disc I44. The rail I5! is bent circularly in a manner concentric with the disc I44. The top of the rail I51 inclines downwardly in the direction towards the flange I38 and the closed ends of the capsules are thereby caused to rest against the disc I44 and to be conveyed along the rail I5! by the friction between their closed ends and the periphery of the disc I44.

To prevent one capsule from mounting on the preceding capsule owing to jamming of a capsule, a stop rail I60 is secured to the inner side of the muff I58. The muff I58 preventsthe capsules from jumping away fromthe rail I5I.

Only one capsule arrives at a time on the plate I6I and at this point the capsules lie exactly one behind the other. The thin disc I62 is rotated by the friction roller I63, and the friction roller I65 is rotated vertically above the disc I62. The springs I61 and I68 assist the disc I62 to rotate that capsule which lies vertically over the disc I62 and the rotated capsule thereby reaches a circular or angular position in which the diametrical slots in the capsule lie horizontally opposite each other. This capsule can then be slid onto the rail I69 with its slots engaged by the said rail, under the pressure exerted by the succeeding capsules. The rail I69, due to its being twisted and of helical form, causes the capsules arriving thereon to travel downwards and be turned thereby, the movement of the capsules being due partly to the downward slant of the rail, partly to the pressure exerted by the succeeding capsules and partly by the draught of air created by the blower II'I. The capsules therefore arrive in the magazine I36 and travel to the feed lever 98 which transfers them singly to the holder 21.

The capsule magazine I36 can be filled independently of the operation of the other parts of the machine, and therefore the filling can take place'whilst the cam shaft 2 I is stopped and the dies are inoperative.

The hereinbefore described machine is obviously subject to changes or modifications within the spirit of the invention.

The seal ejecting mechanism can be completely omitted from the machine.

Figures 25 to 38 illustrate an alternative construction of capsule feeding means and an alternative construction of capsule retaining means.

In the construction shown in Figures 25 to 27, there is a horizontal feedway provided with a projecting rail I6 which is provided with saw like teeth at its delivery end. The teeth are spaced to accommodate one'capsule I5 in each tooth gap. The delivery end of the rail I6 hasan upwardly slanting upper surface which extends beyond the feedway I5. A pivotal gripper arm 860 is provided with a tooth 86a and a tooth 861) which simultaneously engage the two holes BI in each capsule as it arrives at the end of the rail I6. The gripper arm 860 is loaded by a, spring 82 which acts in a downward direction as indicated by the arrow of Figure 26. The gripper arm a is mounted on a slide 63 which reciprocates horizontally.

A check rail 15a is provided above the capsules I5 to limit movement in an upward direction. Springs I51; and I50 are provided to yieldingly' load the capsules I5 as they arrive in position thereunder, thespring 35b acting on each capsule as it reaches the end of the rail I6: and'the spring 15c acting on each capsule when delivered to the transport arm 98'.

x capsule weighting arm pivoted on the luglie, see Figure 21, canbe employed instead of the springs 15?) and 150. A suitable weighting arm 15g is shown in Figures 37 and 38 and is bifurcated and provided with-fingers 15]. which engage the end capsule 15. on bothfsides of the recesss l 8 thereof and thereby prevent. it from pre'-' maturely leaving the channel A stop 15h is provided on the arm 15g to impinge on top of the side wall of the channel '55 and thereby'prevent the weighting arm 15g. from falling too far'when the last capsule leaves the channel 15'. i,

The transport arm 98" has at'its end a semicircular recess H of the same radius the capsule l5. This gap has a serrated rail piece 18 projecting through it. When the conveyor arm 98 is in the position shown in full lines in Figures 26 and 2'7, the rail piece 18' forms a continuation of the rail 16. Aspring 99,;Figures 21 and 25, is provided on the transport arm'98 and isoscillatable on the screw 99a but its oscillatory movement in one direction is limited by a stop iii! on the arm 98.. A stop 15d, Figure 27, is provided to act on the spring 99".

In the construction of capsule retaining member shown in Figures'33 to 35, a collar 21" is adapted to be slidably but non-turnably mounted on the sealing plunger 26 shown in Figures 31 and 32 by the aid of :a pin 4|, Figure 36 which engages a slot 26a in the plunger 26. The pin M is pressed in the slot 26a by a'spring 42 attached to the collar 21. The collarfhas a lateral gap at its lower end to enable the capsule to enter the same in a lateral direction when conveyed by the transport arm 93' to the-collar 21, see more particularlyFigure 30. Springs 48' and 40 are provided on the collar and act through axial gaps inthe collar to yieldinglypress'radially on the capsule and thereby retain it in position in the end ofthe collar until driven out of thecollar by the plunger 26. The finger-like parts 21a and 21b of the collar guide the ends of the springs in the requisite radial directions and alsoassist inyensuring an easy entrance of the capsule through the lateral gap.

The last described construction of mechanism operates as f0llows:- I The capsules I5 are fed singly by the gripper arm 88c from the channel." 15' onto the transport arm 98. The springs 15c and 15?), or alternatively the weighting arm 15g prevents more than a single capsule from leaving the channel at a time. r

When the gripper arm c returns to its initial position, the toothed formation of i the end of the rail 76 prevents the said arm from conveying the capsule in the reverse direction. The said toothed formation also preventsothers of the capsules in the channel '15 from moving in the reverse direction. The gripper arm 8flcforcesthe capsule under the spring 99' which has a slanting part 99a to facilitate this. 1 When the gripper arm 890 has returned to the initial position, the transport arm oscillates 90 degrees and the spring 93' holds the capsule on the arm during this movement. At the end of the oscillation of the arm 98', the spring 99 impinges against the collar 2i" and is moved thereby into the position shown on the said arm in broken lines in Figure 27.

The arm 98 carries the capsule laterally into the collar 21' and the springs 40' and 40 are forced apart by the capsule as it enters the said collar. The springs 40' and 40" then press against the capsule and hold it frictionally in position in the collar until the plunger 26 descends through the collar and forces the capsule therefrom and closes the capsule on the disc of the seal. On the return movement of the transport arm .98, the spring 99 is forced by the pro-- jection 15d into its initial position which is shown infull lines in Figure 27.

I claim- A 1. An automatic machine for aflixing the capsule and disc of a seal to a spring placed in the machine, comprising a fixed aifixing die having a cavity for the disc and slots for the string, a movable aflixing: die cooperating with the first named aflixing die, the said dies being situated in a. freely accessible space, capsule holding means on the movable affixing die for holding the capsule in position on the second named die, a feed member for inserting the capsule into the second named afiixing die and a feed member for depositing the disc in the cavity of the first named die.

2. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising a magazine for a plurality of the said capsules, a guide rail in the magazine bestraddled by the capsules singly for angularly positioning the capsules, a feed finger for forcing the capsules singly out of the magazine onto the first named feed member, means for reciprocating the feed finger, and a rail piece on the first named feed member for the received capsule to bestraddle.

3. An automatic machine according to claim 1,

comprising a capsule feed lever which constitutes the first named feed member, a spring arm provided on the feed lever for yieldingly holding the capsuleon the said lever, a spring on the said lever for yieldingly clamping the capsule to the lever against being thrown from the lever during actuation thereof, and impingement means for automatically displacing the spring arm and spring away from'the'capsule when'the said lever has fed the capsule into position beneath the firstnamed die. i

4. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising a capsule feed lever for feeding capsules singlyto the first named die, a capsule holder provided on the first named die, an inserting lever for forcing the capsule carried by the feed lever upwards into the holder, and means for actuating the inserting lever,

5. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising" a cam shaft for actuating the feed members, driving means for driving the cam shaft, an upper affixing die and a lower aifixing die in which the string is laid, and electric switch contact means provided adjacent the lower affixing die for closure by the operation of laying the string in the lower die, coupling means for coupling the driving means to the cam shaft, and electromagnetic coupling controlling means energized by closure of the switch contact means.

1 6. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising a disc feed lever, means for moving the disc feed lever into position over one of the dies, a two-part displaceable platform on the feed lever for supporting the disc thereon, and automatic operating platform displacing means for discharging the disc from the disc feed lever into the said die.

7. An automatic machine according to claim 1,

. comprising a horizontally oscillatable and vertiholder, and means for actuating the lifting lever.

8. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising a stationary affixing die, a movable afiixing die in alignment with the stationary die, means for actuating the movable die towards and away from the stationary die, a capsule feed lever mounted to one side of the said dies, a disc feed lever mounted tothe other side of the said die, means for, actuating the said feed levers simultaneously in their feed directions immediately after the movable die actuating means haslmoved the movable die away from the stationary die.,

9. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising a movable afiixing die, a stationary afiixing die, an ejector plunger provided in the stationary die, and means for positively actuating the ejector plunger in an ejecting direction. 10; An automatic machine according to claim 1, wherein a slotted capsule arranging mechanism is provided comprising a slotted capsule containing cylinder, means for moving the slotted capsules in the cylinder, means for extracting from the cylinder those slotted capsules which do not stand on their edges, means for rejecting those capsules Which stand in inverted positions, means for accepting those slotted capsules which stand in the desired up right position, means for turning the accepted slotted capsules over on their edges, means for rotating the turned slotted capsules until the slots therein assume predetermined angular positions, a receiving and guide rail for engagement with the slots of the capsules and guidance of the slotted capsules, and a magazine into which the said rail guides the slotted capsules.

11. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising an upper afiixing die and a lower a'liixing die, a capsule holder slidably mounted on the upper die and having a hole'for accommodating the capsule, a spring provided on the holder and acting frictionally'on the die for slidably attaching the holder to the die, and a spring provided on the holder for yieldingly holding the capsule in the said hole.

12. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising means for carrying a stock of arranged capsules, transferring means for transferring capsules singly from the stock to the capsule feed member, means for driving the said transferring means, a stationary affixing die, a movable affixing die, means for actuating the movable'die, mechanical means for arranging capsules and replenishing the said stock, and means for driving the said capsule arranging and replenishing 'means independently of the means for driving the transferring means and the means for actuatingthe movable die and the means for operating the feed member, whilst the said means for driving and means for actuat- 7 ing and means for operating are inoperative.

13. An automatic machine according to claim 1, comprising a lower immovable affixing die, an upper movable affixing die, a capsule holder slidable on the upper vertically movable aflixing die above the lower immovable die, a machine frame carrying the said two dies, a stop surface on the machine frame for sliding the capsule holder downwards on the upper vertically movable affixing die when it ascends, and a disc holding rim on the lower immovable die for also sliding the capsule holder upwards on upper vertically movable afiixing die when it descends and for forming a junction with said holder during the afifixing of the capsule and disc by the said dies.

14. An automatic machine for affixing the capsule and disc of a seal to a string placed in the machine, comprising .a capsule transport arm, asemicircular stop thereon for positioning the capsule on the arm and a capsule guide rail piece extending through the said stop for guiding the capsule into position on the conveyor arm.

15. An automatic machine according to claim 14, comprising pressure means for yieldingly pressing the capsules onto the guide rail and guide piece.

16. An automatic machine for afiixing the capsule and disc of a seal to a string placed in the machine, comprising capsule and disc aifixing dies, a capsule holder slidably and non-rotatably mounted on one of the dies, there being a gap in the said capsule holder for lateral insertion of the capsule into the holder.

17. An automatic machine according to claim 16, wherein springs are provided on the capsule holder for yieldingly pressing the capsule laterally and thereby frictionally retaining the cap sule in position in the capsule holder.

18. An automatic machine for affixing the capsule and disc of a seal toa string placed in the machine, comprising two cooperating amxing dies, a capsule feed lever for feeding the capsule to one of the dies, a centre for the capsule feed lever to oscillate about, a disc feed lever for feeding the'disc to the other of said dies, and a centre in alignment with the first named centre for the disc feed lever to oscillate about, in combination with means for oscillating the said feed levers simultaneously in opposite directions about overlapping arcs which are of equal length and are concentric with each other.

19. An automatic machine for afiixing the cap- OSCAR SCHREYER. 

